Dementia (health and wellbeing needs in South Tyneside)
Key issues
Dementia limits a person's ability to function independently and increases the likelihood of needing to rely on others for support and safety, this can also impact significantly on the life of family / carers.
Key issues include:
Awareness and prevalence
Better awareness of dementia will help improve the understanding of the public, whilst early intervention will support a better quality of life for the person and help increase already good diagnosis rates.
Some dementias are preventable, therefore following healthy lifestyles, (via the "A better U" principles) will, overtime, reduce prevalence, and the future demand for services.
Post diagnostic support
Feedback from the South Tyneside 2024 Memory Loss Survey is mixed, with some saying good information and advice is available, others not so.
Therefore, whilst there may be the need for some improvements, it is more likely that there may be a need to improve access.
Carers identified the needs for speedier diagnosis, to reduce stress and help come to terms with an often-complex situation. Addressing loneliness was also seen as important.
COVID-19
There was scant mention of COVID-19 in the recent survey, however, evidence from third sector sessional group leaders highlighted some initial reticence to attend activities, although this eased considerably once attending.
EOSD
Numbers are small. There is however a need to consider the impact on the wider responsibilities of these residents, such as their desire / need to work and wider caring responsibilities.
The impact of EOSD on the lives of people with learning disabilities also needs to be considered.
National research suggests that up to 75% of people with learning disabilities can get EOSD from aged 50.
Carers
The stress involved in supporting people with dementia came across clearly in discussions and surveys, including the impact on finances, employment, and wider care responsibilities.
Opportunities for carer breaks are seen as important to support their mental health and wellbeing.
Ageing population
There is a need to support an ageing population live well with their dementia.
Should projections relating to dementia be accurate, this will have a significant impact on social care resources.
This also needs to be considered in context, that dementia is not an inevitable part of ageing.
Nationally, 25% of hospital beds are thought to be occupied by people with dementia, reducing the demand for hospital beds and helping people to die in a location of their choosing is important.
Inclusion groups
Whilst numbers are small, there is a need to ensure equality of access to services, for example for people from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Helping to overcome the stigma of dementia and improve quality of life is essential to people coming forward for support.
LGBTQIA+ residents
Whilst numbers are again small, there is a need to ensure equality of access to services for LGBTQIA+ residents.
LGBTQIA+ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (or sometimes questioning), intersex, asexual, and others. The "plus" represents other sexual identities, including pansexual and Two-Spirit.
Workforce development
Ensuring the existing workforce is suitably trained, is essential to meeting the needs of residents.
Considering future workforce requirements will help ensure the needs of an ageing and growing dementia population are met.
Innovation
Innovation can help improve the quality of life of local people, this could include better use of ICT, meeting the housing needs of local people and alternative ways to fund support, for example via external funding.